For instance, I like to add garam marsala along with garlic onions and sea salt, which is how I flavored my soup today. I also added sautéed spinach; it added a nice texture that complemented the dish.

Creamy cauliflower soup enjoyed with garlic mushrooms and spinach.

While I was steaming the cauliflower I sautéed sunflower oil, green onion, and garlic in a skillet until the aromas flooded my home. Then I added the mushrooms, coated them with garlic powder and sea salt, and cooked them until the moisture came out.

***this step is crucial to cooking mushrooms! I recently learned that if you leave them cooking for longer, the moisture will come out and they will be much easier to chew and more pleasant overall.

Once the mushrooms were done, I quickly sautéed the spinach.

Learning how to multitask in the kitchen can be challenging at first, but I have to say this was the first time I really noticed how much I’ve been learning within this entire experience. I felt the connection that cooks feel with their kitchens 💚 also, I efficiently multitasked without burning any pans! Horay!

I found my flow in the kitchen and it was glorious. Always learning, always growing.

Servings: 2

Time: 20 minutes

Cauliflower SoupIngredients:

A head of cauliflower

½ c vegetable broth + more for desired consistency

¼ c soy milk or a plant based milk

1 large garlic clove

½ tsp garam marsala

¼ tsp garlic powder

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. Steam clean cauliflower florets until tender enough to slide a fork through

I love lentils. They are my new favorite food. I’ve even got some set aside to sprout!

Sprouting lentils is extremely easy & so good for you. I was intimidated for a while, but I did some research on sprouting and it’s actually very simple! All I did was put about ½ c of dry lentils in a strainer and I rinsed them with water from the faucet 3 different times yesterday. In between rinses I just set the strainer on the counter so that they stay moist, but not waterlogged.

It’s that easy.

And I already have little sprouts!!!

Back to the soup.

I enjoyed this soup so much I’ve decided to add it to the list of meal prep ideas for when school starts. I plan on doubling this recipe (5 servings) and storing each soup in its own individual mason jar. I could pack the lentil soup along with avocado slices, rice or some seed crackers. Or maybe some dosa!!!

Side note – I am going to learn how to make dosa someday.

Side note II – lentils + rice = complete protein

Anyways, this spicy lentil soup was fairly easy to make and only took about 30 minutes!

About a week ago, I made a spicy lentil soup and I also learned how to sprout lentils in the midst of it all.
It’s such an easy process that I think everyone should do it. Seriously.All you need is a strainer, running water, and 1-3 days! So simple and so good for you.
The sprouts are super packed with nutrients! I got an energy burst after enjoying this colorful & hearty meal.
Also, they’re ridiculously cute!

I whipped up the last of my produce for the week – a purple potato, orange bell pepper, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, green onion – and topped it off with some fresh lentil sprouts.

All I did was pinch a top of a basil plant and put it in a shot glass of water by the window for a week.

There’s something so grounding about these new roots. It’s like a wave of certainty ensuring myself that the plant will survive.

I believe in you!

I actually talk to my plants a lot :O

Also, a mini jalapeño fell off while I was smelling it! It was incredibly spicy and fresh.

Muahaha another propagation!

*Tip – when cutting the top of the basil plant make sure to leave enough room for roots & gently scrape the end of the stem where the new roots will emerge.

Purple Basil

Currently working on getting some roots from my purple basil. Here’s the progress after about 2 weeks:

& here is the original plant:

The new home of the propagated purple basil:

When I first introduced its new home a caterpillar came out of nowhere and began eating all of my basil >< so I ripped off the leaf it was perched on and threw it in the grass. Easy fix.

So these two pictures (above an below) are after the caterpillar incident and some serious growth time.

Looking pretty swell, Basil.

Mint

A common theme that I noticed in a couple of Texas gardens was that mint flourishes with ease and overtakes the garden. I was totally surprised when I learned about this because of my skimpy mint plant. (Jk it’s still a super beautiful fragrant plant that I love)

But I wish I had that problem. Definitely still working on mint.

I’m currently trying to propagate mint. Began soaking in water on June 19th.

**update – it did not work so I am trying it again

Green Onion

Not too sure what happened to my green onion, maybe there’s too much stuff in there.

I ended up buying more green onions today, which is only the second time this year I must add 🙂